MSD launches early-life cattle pneumonia vaccine
© Tim Scrivener An early life pneumonia vaccine has been launched by MSD Animal Health, allowing beef and dairy farmers to protect their calves from as young as one week for the very first time.
Bovilis Intranasal RSP Live is the only bovine respiratory disease vaccine licensed in the UK that can be administered this early, with other vaccines typically requiring users to wait until the calf is nine days old.
It reduces the clinical signs of respiratory disease and viral shedding from infection caused by bovine respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza-3 virus.
MSD Animal Health claims it also delivers the fastest on-farm protection with an onset of immunity after administration of just five days for BRSV and seven days for Pi3V and protection lasting for 12 weeks.
Bovilis Intranasal RSP
See also: Q&A: Pneumonia in calves and how to combat it
MSD Animal Health ruminant veterinary adviser Kat Baxter-Smith (MRCVS) said: “The sooner and faster these young calves can be protected against viral pneumonia and the permanent lung damage it causes, the better their potential lifetime productivity will be – whether in terms of delivering expected milk yield in the dairy herd or growth performance on the beef unit.”
For further information, contact your vet.